Barberton toddler remains hospitalized after being burned at daycare

A baby girl has been in the hospital since January 6 after a crock pot fell on her while attending the All About Kids Daycare in Barberton.

Zahara Hooks-Gibbons, 1, is being treated for burns on her face, scalp and back in the burn unit at the Akron Children's Hospital.

"I try to be strong for her. I try not to let her see me cry, but to see your grand baby, whooo, it's a whole other picture. It's a whole other picture," says Camille Cheatham-Hooks.

Barberton Police tell 19 Action News the caretaker at the daycare stated another toddler had a tantrum in front of the table that the crock pot was on when it slid off. Police also say the crock pot was sitting on top of a microwave and plugged into an outlet that was located above Hooks-Gibbons' seat.

We went to "All About Kids Daycare" to find out how something like this could have happened.

Director Danielle Sankovich told us the same story. That a bottle warmer on top of a microwave spilled on little Zahara who was sitting in a chair below -- after a special needs child had a tantrum.

"The wall was being kicked. This was sitting off and it fell off on here and the water dumped and the seat was right here," Danielle Sankovich said.

So we asked why the bottle warmer was there is the first place -- the director tells us the state requires it to be there.

But now daycare workers have placed a pad underneath the warmer so it can't easily move and they've pushed the seats several inches away from that area.

"As a mother I can't imagine what they're going through and I'm very, very sorry," Sankovich added.

Zahara's grandmother says she'll likely have to have skin grafts. No word on when she's coming home.

As for the daycare, the say state inspectors wrote them up for because the bottle warmer was able to move.

After the investigation, police have determined the incident was an accident.

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